Insider news, article found here:

http://www.xanga.com/RPGpundit/464950655/item.html

Thus far, neither Iron Crown Enterprises nor the GAMA association have posted any official comment.

RPGPundit

Interesting. Ignoring people, people failing to do their job, whining and fits - it all sounds like the drama of a messageboard for teenagers.

Or a fair percentage of LiveJournals.

Boy, that would have stunk if Rasyr actually needed to do his alternate judge duty.  If it's substantiated, sounds like a major disconnect or case of neglect.

Oh, its substantiated, at least Rasyr's resignation from the Academy and his version of the story. The information my anonymous source gave me couldn't have been more legit.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditOh, its substantiated, at least Rasyr's resignation from the Academy and his version of the story. The information my anonymous source gave me couldn't have been more legit.

RPGPundit

My first reaction upon reading this was: ICE still exists?!?!?!!?!?!?!  I thought they were deader than FASA...

Quote from: CyberzombieMy first reaction upon reading this was: ICE still exists?!?!?!!?!?!?!  I thought they were deader than FASA...

Oh, no they're still kicking, with a pretty dedicated little knot of fans.  HARP was a great release (it's one of my favorites), and you'll be seeing a Rolemaster revision a bit own the road.

As I understand it, the old ICE is dead, and a new company bought up all their assets including the name and are now doing business as ICE.

Quote from: CyberzombieMy first reaction upon reading this was: ICE still exists?!?!?!!?!?!?!  I thought they were deader than FASA...

HARP was actually a pretty nice re-entry of ICE into the RPG world. A nice, solid game, a good alternative for those who want something different from D&D, but which doesn't go very far afield from it. It's a cleaned up, simplified version of RoleMaster (a game I never really liked).

Quote from: DackeAs I understand it, the old ICE is dead, and a new company bought up all their assets including the name and are now doing business as ICE.

That's more or less what happened.  I can't access ICE's webpage from work, but from the sometimes-correct Wikipedia:
 

QuoteDespite ICE's many successes, in 1997 ICE suffered financial difficulties from a rapid decline in its distribution net; nearly 70% of ICE's distributors either went bankrupt or became moribund. The company entered bankruptcy and filed for Chapter 7 in October of 2000. This bankruptcy cost ICE the Middle-Earth license, ending both the MERP and CCG lines.
In December of 2001, ICE was purchased by Aurigas Aldebaron LLC, an intellectual property ownership company backed by several wealthy individuals. Rather than dismantling the company, the new owners revived operations, and ICE began publishing again, focusing on Rolemaster. In 2003, ICE released a new RPG, HARP ("High Adventure Role Playing"), a simplified version of Rolemaster, which has met with general acclaim.

And yes, I'm a huge fan of HARP as well as Rolemaster, the difference being I don't have to houserule the hell out of HARP to get what I want. But I'm happy both are being produced.

Quote from: DackeAs I understand it, the old ICE is dead, and a new company bought up all their assets including the name and are now doing business as ICE.

Did they get rid of all the staff?

No idea.

Rasyr used to frighten me something fierce at RPGNet. Somebody would ask a question about HARP and within seconds of its mention he would reply. I got the impression of someone who had a gigantinc fire siren on his desk that was hardwired into the site. Whenever a new post mentioning HARP appeared I could just imagine the thing going off and him, probably spilling coffee all over himself as he raced to his computer, pounding away an answer in no time flat.

I think RPGPundit's got his players confused.  It's not "ICE quits GAMA" at all.  It's Tim Dugger (individual member of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design, i.e. "a guy") quits the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design.

Tim is not ICE. He works *for* ICE, which is how he is eligible to be a member of AAGAD (an association of individuals).  AAGAD's primary task is to run the Origins Awards.

AAGAD is not GAMA. Companies are members of GAMA, not individuals.  GAMA is the industry trade organization; it provides companies with access to services like health insurance and credit card processing, runs the industry's only trade show and Origins, the second-largest consumer game convention behind GenCon. It is through GAMA that AAGAD is tasked to run the Origins Awards but the two are not the same.

The rest of the dust-up between Tim and the current AAGAD chairman or GAMA staff I neither know nor care about, but the fact that a guy decided to quit the Academy in a huff isn't really "breaking news" on an industry scale.

Nicole
(Origins Awards committee member 2000-2004, Chairman AAGAD 2004)

Why hello there, Nikchick.

It is indeed "news" where it demonstrates the degree to which the Origin awards and GAMA as an organization have slipped into brutal decline and incompetence; and where the circumstances behind his resignation call into question the entire judging process and viability of the Origin awards.

If you do want to know the particular details, feel free to read them in my blog.

RPGPundit

Quote from: CyberzombieMy first reaction upon reading this was: ICE still exists?!?!?!!?!?!?!  I thought they were deader than FASA...

Actually, FASA is still alive, legally speaking.


PS: First post. Hi everyone! :bow: